Aquarius
by ClaireBear1982
Summary: Aurora Sinistra tells the story of the Greek myth behind the Aquarius star sign.
A/N: Okay, so I don't know if this would be a thing the Astronomy department at Hogwarts would do or not. I can only hope that maybe they would.

QLFC. Captain of the Wimbourne Wasps. Round 2.

Wasps: Astronomy.

Captain: Write about someone utilising their skills or knowledge of the subject as part of their job.

* * *

Aquarius

The weather was too atrocious for the fifth years to climb to the top of the Astronomy Tower this night, so I had the children gather in a classroom on the fourth floor instead.

When the children had filed into the room, they all seemingly seemed grateful that I had decided to keep them in the warm, away from the howling wind that was blowing an absolute gale outside. I decided that I would tell the story behind the constellation of Aquarius. It was the only one I hadn't gotten around to telling them about yet, despite the astronomical area being on the curriculum for first year. Subjects that were left out because of the lack of time were perfect for nights when the weather was too poor to be atop the Astronomy tower; as it was tonight. The wind that was tearing at the top of the tower made it far from safe to be out there, and the thick cover of stormy clouds would have made it impossible to see any of the stars, planets or the beautiful constellations scattered across the heavens.

The snug warmth of the classroom became more potent as rain started pelting the windows. Once everyone has found a seat and I called them to attention, I began my story.

"The myth of Aquarius is about a young prince called Ganymede. He was said to be the most beautiful young man in all of Troy."

Some of the girls 'Ooo'd' and 'Ah'd.' The boys, meanwhile, rolled their eyes.

"Professor Sinistra? How old was Ganymede?" asked one of the girls.

"In myth, he was actually the same age as you, my dear," I said, smiling at the girl in question.

Some of the boys at the back of the classroom had started talking amongst themselves; all you had to do was give them a chance to start, and they would, leaving me to sharply reprimand them, and remind them that this was still a lesson. Once I had quietened them, everyone settled again. I continued my story.

"One day, the young man was spotted by Zeus, whilst he was tending to his father's sheep on a grassy area of Mount Ida. Zeus had found Ganymede to so irresistibly beautiful that he took the young man for himself."

"Please, Professor, did you just say Zeus took Ganymede for himself?" asked one of the boys at the back of the room, a look of sheer horror on his face.

"I did. It was expected of a young man to become an older man's lover, or slave," I said primly. Typical Bellamy. The boy had almost an opinion for absolutely everything. It wouldn't the first time I'd have to put that certain young man in detention.

"That's so wrong," said the student in question again.

"Narrow-mindedness will get you nowhere in this life, Mr Bellamy. So please, do be quiet so I can finish this story."

With the miscreant silenced, I carried on with the tale.

"Where was I? Ah, ah, yes. One day, the young man was spotted by Zeus, whilst he was tending to his father's sheep on a grassy area of Mount Ida. Zeus had found Ganymede to so irresistibly beautiful that he took the young man for himself. Zeus then transformed himself to become the form of a giant eagle. He flew down from Mount Olympus to Mount Ida and grabbed Ganymede in his giant talons and carried him off back to Mount Olympus to become his lover and servant. Ganymede then became Zeus' personal cup-bearer, and was forced to bring Zeus a drink whenever he wished to quench his thirst. Normally, under such circumstances, the young lover would be mentored by the older man, but Zeus didn't think of such things.

"To appease the young boy's father, Zeus offered to him a herd of the finest horses in all the land as compensation for losing his son. As to whether this appeased his father or not, we do not know. It is highly doubtful, but his father had no wish to argue against Zeus, so he accepted his offer graciously.

"Though, one day, Ganymede decided he'd had enough of being Zeus' cup-bearer, and tipped away all the wine, ambrosia, and water of the Gods. As legend would tell us, when Ganymede tipped all these away, it fell to Earth, causing massive rainfalls for days on end, that eventually flooded the entire planet.

"At first, Zeus was angry with the boy and wanted to punish him harshly. But in a moment of self-reflection, he realised that he'd been somewhat unkind to the boy and instead of punishing him, he decided to make Ganymede immortal as the constellation representing the myth of Aquarius."

Once I had finished telling the tale, the whole class went silent and everyone stared at me wide-eyed. With the exception of Bellamy, who was yawning.

For the next forty five minutes, I did a quiz to see who'd been listening to the story. Of course, I ended up putting young Mr Bellamy in detention again, not only not listening to the story, but for being a disruptive influence. I also went back over the previous week's lesson.

"Okay class, for homework, I would like a foot long essay about the constellation of Aquarius as well as a diagram of where it is on a star map. To be handed in next Wednesday, please. Last Wednesday's homework to me as you leave, please," I asked as the small alarm I'd set to indicate the end of the lesson rang shrilly, breaking the spell of quiet that seemed to have settled over the class for a moment. Some of the children groaned aloud, I think they thought as this wasn't a practical lesson, they would get away with not getting homework.

I smiled to myself. Who were they kidding? This was O.W.L year. I had to make sure they knew enough to get through their exams. I hated the examinations sometimes, because it took some of my favourite children away from me - especially if they failed, or decided they didn't wish to study Astronomy anymore. I let out a sibilant sigh as I watched the children disperse back to their dormitories. But for now, I would enjoy teaching them.


End file.
